


Patching Up

by systems



Series: Tumblr Drabbles [11]
Category: Free!
Genre: Emergency room, Hospitals, M/M, Slice of Life, Toned down slightly from tumblr, Warning: mild descriptions of injury
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-03-18
Updated: 2016-03-18
Packaged: 2018-05-27 10:31:06
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,742
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6281047
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/systems/pseuds/systems
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>This deviates from canon, but takes place during Makoto and Rin's 3rd year. </p>
<p>Rin is not surprised to find that his boyfriend doesn't deal well with blood. He's surprisingly fearful for such a big guy, worried about ghosts and spiders and noises in the dark. What does surprise him is that Makoto is all business and focused care when it comes to other people's wounds, and complete panic when it comes to his own.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Patching Up

**Author's Note:**

> Slightly edited from the tumblr version. Once again, warning for (relatively mild) descriptions of injuries - scraped knee to emergency room-worthy laceration. (If you'd rather skip that part, beware the kitten.)

Rin is not surprised to find that his boyfriend doesn't deal well with blood. He's surprisingly fearful for such a big guy, worried about ghosts and spiders and noises in the dark. What does surprise him is that Makoto is all business and focused care when it comes to other people's wounds, and complete panic when it comes to his own. 

He supposes it makes sense that Makoto is decent at first-aid. His nurturing instincts are no joke - he takes it upon himself to take care of everyone around him, almost without seeming conscious of what he's doing. His twin siblings are a fair amount younger than he is, and since Rin has been back from Australia they've consistently exhibited that boundless energy and bravery that comes from not really thinking about consequences or the finer points of gravity. 

The first bloody disaster was a botched date in April of their last year of high school. Rin had finally pulled himself together enough to ask Makoto to hang out _\--without Haru, just you, Makoto, just us, I mean--_ and then Makoto's aunt got sick. His mother and father travelled to check on her, leaving Makoto responsible for the twins for the weekend. 

Rin tried very hard to not feel bitter, but it had taken a lot of courage to ask for this. A romantic picnic in the park is just not the same with two bite-sized terrors racing each other in circles. 

Ren's balance betrayed him first, and Rin found himself standing uselessly by while Makoto pulled a first-aid kit from the extra basket he'd brought with the twins' food and cleaned and patched up his knees. 

"Ren, what happened?" Makoto asked, settling in front of the sobbing boy and opening a pack of antiseptic wipes. 

"I s-slipped on th-the grass," Ren hiccuped. 

Makoto hummed thoughtfully as he flipped through the bandages, looking for one big enough to cover the damage. "Did you trip?"

"No," Ren shook his head. "Just fell." 

Makoto hummed again. "That happens sometimes. It'll be alright. Remind me tonight; we'll put on new bandages before bed, okay?" 

Ren nodded, wiping his tears on the back of his sleeve. 

"Okay."

"You're okay," Makoto smiles, pressing gently along the edges of the bandage. "Try not to get any dirt in it, okay, Ren?" 

The boy took a few shaky breaths and blinked hard. "Okay, onii-chan." He gave them both a watery smile before heading across to join his sister at the swings. 

And Rin had to wonder, for a moment, how someone who is capable of such laughable panic is also capable of such stillness. How it is that this sunshine boy can be so many things without ever seeming unlike himself. 

 

Rin has cause to think of this again in early October, when he and Makoto are supposed to be spending a quiet Saturday at the Tachibana house. Makoto's parents are out of town, this time taking the twins with them. Makoto had asked to be excused from the trip as he'd quite like the opportunity to catch up on sleep and maybe watch a movie with his boyfriend. 

Rin wonders if he used the word boyfriend. The thought makes him smile, since Makoto stutters over it still, even with just Rin and nearly six months of practice. 

The first movie is over, and Rin stands and stretches up, shooting a knowing smile at Makoto when he watches the movement. 

"It's nice outside," Makoto remarks. "Want to go anywhere?"

"We could sit out back. I kind of just want to be lazy today," Rin says. 

"Lazy, you?" his boyfriend acts shocked. He laughs at Rin's pout. "Iwatobi just had exams, too, you know. Lazy sounds good." 

Makoto leads him into the backyard. There's not a lot of room since their house backs onto the hill, but there's a small garden and a nice place to stretch out in the sun, which is what they do. Rin stretches out on his back, hooking one arm behind his head and another around Makoto, who seems to prefer curling up a bit on his side to lying flat on his back. They talk quietly, doze a little bit, and it's all a little perfect. 

Rin wakes to find his boyfriend cooing at a kitten who is inexplicably on the Tachibanas' roof. "What the--?"

"Oh, you're awake!" Makoto glances back only briefly. "She was in the tree, I think she must be one of Mrs. Takiyama's kittens. She fell onto the roof."

Rin sits up and cranes his neck, and he can sort of see why Makoto's explanation makes sense. There's one tree that's just barely on the other side of the fence, and the branches do come pretty close to the lower section of the roof, above the kitchen door. He looks back to Makoto. He's standing on an overturned bucket, bracing himself with one hand in the gutter and reaching for the cat. It's slowly creeping towards him, and everything's going according to plan until, rather than coming quietly into Makoto's waiting embrace, she pounces on his fingers. 

Makoto jumps, startled, and loses his balance as the bucket tips and slides out from under him. He cries out as he crashes down. 

Rin's stomach lurches when he sees blood _splatter_. He rushes forward, checking that nothing seems to be broken, and ushers Makoto into the kitchen. He pulls him to the sink so at least he isn't dripping all over the floor. 

Turning on the faucet, Rin gently spoons water over Makoto's wrist and hand, but the blood doesn't stop. He grabs some paper towels and holds them against the wound, counting and hoping the bleeding will stop with the pressure. In his head he's half here, and half trying to recall every safety and first aid lesson he's ever had to take. About all he remembers is that you're supposed to put pressure on a wound if you can, to help slow and stop the bleeding.

Makoto's skin is ashen, and he's sweating. Rin's not sure how to handle this, he's only barely keeping it together himself. _You can panic later,_ he tells himself, _after he stops bleeding._ He starts opening drawers looking for towels, glancing back at his boyfriend constantly. 

Makoto's sliced a good few centimeters from the side of his hand down toward his forearm. It's probably not terrible, but the blood isn't stopping, and Rin's a little too panicked to talk himself down. As for Makoto, every time he so much as looks at it, he wobbles slightly where he stands next to the sink. Finally, Rin finds clean towels and he presses them against the wound, wincing when Makoto flinches. 

"Mako, I think we have to go to the hospital. You're okay, but bandages aren't enough here." 

Makoto doesn't respond at first, but Rin knows he's right, so he pulls his phone from his pocket. "I'm calling a taxi. We'll wrap you up and take you to the hospital." 

Makoto nods absently. Rin takes a deep, shuddering breath, and makes the call. 

"Okay," Rin says, "the taxi is on its way. Here's what we'll do. I'll wrap this towel around to hold the first ones in place, alright? And I'll help you hold it in the cab. Do you have your ID?" 

Makoto nods. "It hurts, Rin," he whispers. 

Rin feels his face crumple. "I know. We'll go get it fixed up, yeah? Come on." He leans up and kisses Makoto's cheek. 

 

Makoto is whisked away by the triage nurse as soon as they get him checked in at the emergency department. It's fairly empty, and Rin is grateful for that, but he didn't come here to sit in the waiting room. He contemplates just asking the triage nurse, but she's busy with another patient, so he walks as casually as he can over to the "Emergency Department - Staff and Patients Only" sign and the double doors beneath it. He makes it about three feet inside before he feels a hand on his shoulder. Wincing, he turns to face the nurse who's caught him. 

"I'm looking for Tachibana Makoto?" he says hopefully. "I just figured I'd sit with him while he's getting taken care of." 

"Sorry, are you family?" the nurse asks. 

"No, but," Rin starts. He rubs the back of his neck self-consciously. "Look, his whole family is out of town for the weekend. He's barely said a word since he fell. He needs someone in there talking to him." 

The nurse nods to herself and turns on her heel. "You need an escort. I'll take you back. No wandering around the department." 

"Yes, ma'am," Rin says. 

They stop only briefly at the nurses' station before Rin is directed to a small room. There's no door, only a curtain that can be drawn across for privacy. Makoto's seated on the propped up hospital bed. His posture is stiff and uncomfortable. 

"Tachibana-san, this young man wants to keep you company," the nurse says kindly. She takes in the way Makoto relaxes at the sight of him and turns to leave. Makoto's eyes lock on Rin's as he thanks the nurse.

"Hi, Rin," Makoto smiles wanly. His arm is on a tray next to the bed, sort of wrapped. 

"Has a doctor looked at it?"

"I've seen a doctor and a nurse, I think. Or two nurses? I'm not sure."

Rin nods. "Okay if I come in?" 

"Of course," Makoto nods quickly. 

Rin pulls up the one chair in the corner, scooting as close as he can to the bed. The bed's a lot higher, though, and it feels awkward. In the end, he shoves the chair back to where it was and stands next to Makoto, trying to seem calm. 

Makoto seems fixated as he stares at his injured hand. He lifts the gauze with hesitant fingers, then drops it quickly. 

"How are you doing?" Rin asks. 

Makoto shrugs. Some of the color's come back to his face. "It's mostly stopped bleeding." 

Rin nods. God, this is awkward. He hates not being able to do anything, just sitting around waiting for something to happen. 

It seems to take hours before a woman knocks on the door frame before introducing herself. A nurse is right behind her. 

"It's pretty superficial," the doctor says, lifting Makoto's arm by his elbow. "I know it probably seemed like a lot of blood but you haven't hit anything major. You're up to date on your tetanus shots, so we just need to clean it out to make sure there's no debris, and then we'll put in a few stitches. Think you're okay to stand up?" 

Makoto nods, and stands with his arm held out, head turned as far as he can manage without pulling out of the doctor's grip. Rin comes closer and looks between the doctor and Makoto. When the doctor pulls the wound apart with her gloved hands to rinse it more thoroughly, Makoto shivers with revulsion. Rin takes his other hand and squeezes it. 

He doesn't let go through the next bit. The doctor gives Makoto a little local anesthetic before she starts on the stitches. Unsurprisingly, Makoto does not seem to be a fan of needles. He doesn't say anything, but he turns his head as soon as the doctor mentions anesthetic. Rin doesn't really blame him. He likes to think of himself as a generally fearless guy, and it's not that he's _afraid_ , exactly, he just really, really does not like them. 

"Okay, we'll put the stitches in now. You might want to look away," the doctor warns, when Makoto looks back at her. 

Rin takes that as his cue. "Hey," he says gently, and turns Makoto's face with two fingers along his jawline. It's maybe too intimate a gesture for the emergency room, but the doctor isn't really looking and it gets Makoto's attention. "What do you want to do after? We could take the train back right away, or we could do something in town as long as we're here." 

Makoto blinks a few times as though he really hadn't thought beyond this moment. "Oh, I, um. I don't know?"

"Well," Rin starts, intending to list all the things that are in town and open on a Saturday night. He realizes that it'd be better to make Makoto come up with a list, thinks it'd maybe require more concentration and remove him even further from the sutures being tied periodically along his injured hand. "What is there to do? Have any ideas?" 

Makoto thinks, and a little wrinkle appears between his eyebrows. "Movie? Or, are you hungry? I was going to make us dinner," he says, somewhat despondent. "I don't think I can, now," he confesses, glancing at the doctor's progress and shivering. "I can't really feel my hand." 

"I suppose it'd be unfair to challenge you to a Mario Kart tournament, then," Rin mock-sighs. 

"Oh! I'm sorry, Rin," Makoto says hurriedly. "I mean, I could try, maybe if I balance the controller right I can--" 

"Oi, Mako, I was teasing," Rin interrupts with a smile. "You really are too accommodating. What did I tell you about that?" 

"That you want me to stand up for myself more," his boyfriend sighs. "I don't mind, though, really--"

"I'm done," the doctor interrupts. "I'm going to put gauze here to pad the injury and wrap your hand. You'll want to change the bandage later. Try not to get it wet. You'll need to see your doctor to get the stitches removed in 7 to 10 days." 

"Thank you, Doctor," Makoto says. He gives her a sincere smile. 

She blinks. "Of course. Your hand and arm will probably feel numb for a few more hours. You can take painkillers if you need to once the anesthetic wears off," the doctor continues, almost visibly ticking off the list of things she needs them to know before they leave. "If you have any problems, if it starts getting red or unusually painful, you can come back here, but you don't need us to remove your stitches. Any doctor can do that. In 7 to 10 days." 

"Right," Makoto says. 

"And don't get it wet if you can help it. Not for a few days, anyway." 

Rin huffs out a laugh. He wonders if she's been on shift too long, or if Makoto's smile is just that blinding. "Thanks, Doctor." 

"Okay," she says. "Here, you might as well take the rest of this roll," she hands some gauze to Rin. "I'd just have to throw it out anyway. Re-wrap his hand for him later." 

"Got it," Rin says.

"Right," the doctor says. "Right. Okay, you should be all set." 

"Thank you, again," Makoto says. Rin helps him up with a hand on the small of his back, and they head for the exit. 

In the end, Rin decides to pick up food to reheat later. While Makoto isn't looking, he also picks up a few kitchen towels to replace the ones the nurses in the emergency room had thrown away. He texts Sousuke to tell him he'll be staying with Makoto and shows his boyfriend the winking emoji he gets in return just to see him blush. They take the train home, Makoto turning his hand over and back, staring at the padded white mess that's taken over most of his hand. 

"Your parents are never going to leave us alone again," Rin says, as the thought occurs to him. "They'll never trust me." 

Makoto cracks the first real smile Rin's seen since the accident. He nudges Rin with his shoulder. "It's not like they're always going out of town anyway. This has happened, what, twice in the past year?" 

"Yeah, but like, when we go off to college, they'll probably insist Haru go with you to look out for you. 'That Matsuoka boy cannot be trusted with our son,' they'll say." Rin glances over to see Makoto blushing furiously. "What?"

"Are we -- you're planning for when we go to college? Rin, that's more than six months away!" He looks inordinately pleased. 

"It's not that long," Rin sniffs. He's got to turn this conversation around, feeling if he blushes any harder he might explode, so he asks, "What, don't you like me enough to keep me around at least that long?" 

Makoto laughs, a surprisingly raucous sound in the quiet train car. "I do. More." 

"Well, then," Rin says simply.

**Author's Note:**

> This was for the non-sexual acts of intimacy meme, prompt: patching up a wound. I have been tinkering with it for a while but hesitant to post. I got worried that since technically, Makoto and Rin didn't patch up a wound for each other, it wasn't quite what the prompt required. Still. Here it is.


End file.
